Got my birthday present...

Yeah, it's two weeks early but I couldn't wait and my wife said I could pick it up.

It's a shiny new Nintendo DS. I couldn't afford any of the only 4 or so games it had on release day so I'm making due with the Metroid game and PictoChat software that came with it. I was dubious about the touch screen controls but once you discover the thumb thingy attached to the wrist strap is for the touch screen it's great. Point and shoot. Almost as intuitive as using a mouse on a PC. 3D shooters are very playable using this format once you get used to it. The stylus is a bit small but an after-market Palm Pilot stylus works just fine. the whole machine is a bit big, about as big as an original Gameboy but sideways and in a clamshell. It'll still fit in a pocket but just barely.

It has built-in wireless and I can't wait for the inevitable wi-fi uses for it. It'd be awesome to have a mini web-browser and email client for it. Pop into a Schlotsky's and do email from your Gameboy. Give me that and I won't even need to take my laptop on trips and vacations. I notice it also has a microphone built in. That could make for some interesting game-play I guess.

It is a bit big. About as big as an original Gameboy but sideways and in a clamshell. It takes a bit of getting used to, especially the touch screen but I like it. Now I just need to get some more games for it. As is I'll keep playing my old faves like Mario Golf Advance and Advance Wars 2 on it.

: Father of Mine from the album "So Much for the Afterglow" by Everclear